De discordia civium de Riga contra fratres domus Theutonice in Lyvonia.
The Quarrel Between Riga and the Teutonic Brothers
In 1297 a bitter quarrel erupted between the citizens of Riga and the Teutonic brothers, leading to nine clashes within eighteen months, yet God granted the brothers victory in most engagements.
In the year of our Lord 1297, an undying quarrel broke out between the citizens of Riga on one side and the brothers of the Teutonic Order on the other, and it grew so severe that within a year and a half the brothers clashed with them nine times, driven by unavoidable necessity. And although they were defeated in one engagement, in the others they prospered with the help of God's power.
The Fall of Brother Bruno on the Seashore
In 1298 the Lithuanian king, summoned by Riga, captured Carthusen and then ambushed Brother Bruno on the seashore, killing the master, twenty-two brothers, and five hundred Christians despite the liberation of nearly three thousand captives.
In the year of our Lord 1298, Vithenus, king of the Lithuanians, at the call of the citizens of Riga, captured the castle of Carthusen with its brothers and their household, and after devastating the lands of that castle with fire and pillage, while he was preparing to return to his own country, Brother Bruno, master of the land of Livonia, followed him with a small force and fell upon him on the first of June on the seashore by the river Treyderameg, and after freeing nearly three thousand Christians from the hands of the enemy, and after eight hundred of the unbelievers had been killed, the king finally prevailed and killed the master along with twenty-two brothers and five hundred Christians.
Reinforcements from Prussia and the Battle at Molendini
The master general sent Prussian reinforcements to Livonia, who joined the brothers in a great victory on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, during which a single Samland warrior fought with legendary endurance.
In the same year, Brother Gottfried Hoeloch, master general of the Teutonic Order, was in the land of Prussia, and he sent Brother Bertold Bruhaveg, commander of Königsberg, with many brothers and men-at-arms to the land of Livonia to aid the brothers there. They, coming together with an army of brothers from Livonia on the feast of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, killed more than a thousand of the citizens of Riga and the Lithuanians who were besieging the new castle of Molendini. In this battle, a certain Prussian from Samland, as it is read in the Book of Kings about Achab, stood and struck his enemies until his hands failed and his sword grew stiff in his hands.
The Grievous Cost of Civil Strife
The chronicler laments that no pen can fully record the evils this quarrel brought upon the Christian faith and the faithful.
And to conclude briefly, no one could fully write how great are the evils that have arisen from this quarrel for the faith and for the faithful.
Read the original Latin
Anno domini mccxcvii*1 orta est immortalis discordia inter cives Rigensesi297 ex una parte et fratres domus Theutonice ex altera, que tantum invaluit, quod infra annum et dimidium fratres necessitate inevitabili cogente novem vicibus cum ipsis conflixerunt. Et quamvis in uno conflictu succumberent, in aliis tarnen sunt divine virtutis auxilio prosperati. Anno domini mccxcviii Vithenus rex Lethowinorum ad vocacionem civium Rigensium castrum in Carthusen cap tis fratribus et eorum familia expugnavit, et finibus dicti castri per incendia et rapinas devastatis, dum ad terram suam redire disponeret, frater Bruno magister terre Lyvonie cum exercitu modico sequens ipsum, kalendis Junii in litore maris juxta fluvium TreyderameG invasit, et liberatis de manibus hostium fere tribus milibus Cristianorum, et occisis de parte infidelium octingentis, rex tandem prevaluit et magistrum cum xxii fratribus et md cristifidelibus interfecit. Eodem anno frater Godefridusf Hoeloch magister generalis domus Theutonice fuit in terra Prussie, qui fratrem Bertoldum Bruhaveg commendatorem de Kunigs bergk cum multis fratribus et armigeris misit ad terram Lyvonie fratribus ibidem in auxilium. Ilii cum exercitu fratrum de Lyvonia convenientes in die beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum, de civibus Rigensibus et Lethowinis, qui erant in obsidione castri Molendini novi ultra un milia occiderunt. In hoc conflictu 2Reg quidain Pruthenus de Sambia, sicut legitur in libro regum de Acboya, stetit et percussit inimicos, quousque deficerent manus ejus, et obrigesceretb gladius in manibus ejus. Et ut breviter concludam, nullus posset plene scribere, quanta mala de hac dissensionec fidei et fidelibus sunt exorta.
Chronicon Terrae Prussiae (Chronicle of the Prussian Land) companion
Keep reading the sources for yourself
The full 428-chapter chronicle — and 78+ other historic works — readable daily in the free Chosen Portion iOS app
The knights kept fixed daily hours of prayer alongside their campaigns; Chosen Portion keeps the fixed daily reading and drops the campaigning.
- The complete chronicle in modern English, in portions under 5 minutes
- Pericope headings that let you navigate 428 chapters by theme
- A daily reading habit that outlasts the 5-week course